Lovie Smith Still Able To Play Underdog Card This Week

Illinois head coach Lovie Smith still using old-school motivation as the Illini enter this week as a 12-point road underdog vs. Iowa.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- In the first morning meeting with his team, Lovie Smith still needed just the point spread in Vegas to emphasize his point.

“It was the first thing he did on the screen today,” Illinois safety Sydney Brown said. “The first number he showed was 12 to represent how much of an underdog we are to Iowa.”

Despite being on a four-game winning streak and being bowl eligible for the first time since 2014, Illinois (6-4, 4-3 in Big Ten) will arrive at Kinnick Stadium a double-digit underdog in a Big Ten game.

“And honestly you wouldn’t want it any other way,” Illini quarterback Brandon Peters said Monday. “You want to be counted out because I feel like that takes the pressure off you in these big games.”

Illinois has now won two straight Big Ten games as a double-digit underdog (Wisconsin, Michigan) and will attempt to knock off a Hawkeyes program on an extreme high after knocking off a previous undefeated Minnesota.

Illinois head coach Lovie Smith hopes to lead his team to its third-straight win as a double-digit underdog in a Big Ten game this season.  :: Mike Carter/USA TODAY Sports

The Illini fourth-year head coach talked Monday about the national narrative of a consistent nature the Hawkeyes program has proven to be year in and out is what Illinois is trying to find in Smith's rebuild.

 “I think people take them seriously and their program is one of the best traditionally and people look at them that way,” Smith said. “Talent wise, they put as many guys in the NFL as anybody else and there’s a lot of things people take notice. We’re the ones trying to take us serious. We’re double-digit underdogs every week so it’s more those types of those programs that are looking for respect than the Iowas of the world.”

Of course, Smith could’ve just put the final score of the game last year in Champaign on the projection board in the meeting room: 63-0. The worst loss in Illinois football history It is (tied with a 1906 loss vs. University of Chicago) coincided with the largest of the Kirk Ferentz era at Iowa and tied for the 12th-largest in the Hawkeyes football history.

“The 63 to zero thrashing out there, are we going to bring that up? Yeah, probably a few times,” Smith said Monday. “You know, I don’t think you really need to. When you play that way, you just hope to get an opportunity to play better against an opponent. We use everything we can to motivate the players on our roster.”

Smith also pointed out that a set of circumstances could break correctly for Illinois to still figure out a way to win the Western Division of the Big Ten despite a 0-3 start in league play. For that to happen, Illinois would need to win out, Minnesota would need to lose out and Wisconsin would need to lose to also lose to Purdue this weekend. However, Smith has instilled that a lot is still left to play for as an 8-win Illini team would be much more appealing to bowl committees, especially New Year’s Day bowl game committees than the Illini in its current six-win form. 

“I would say yes, you have to acknowledge that getting bowl eligible provides a sense of relief but also knowing there’s a lot of players on this team that are striving for more,” Peters said.